Iran Strikes Back Across the Gulf as Rubio Warns Asia on Hormuz
Iran fired a missile at a Jordanian city near Israel and triggered alerts in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, retaliating for the latest American bombardment; Tehran’s health ministry says US strikes have now killed 53 people over eleven days. In Manila, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told Southeast Asian ministers that letting Iran control and tax the Strait of Hormuz would set a “very dangerous precedent”, and held a rare sideline meeting with China’s foreign minister.
Mr Rubio’s warning universalised the Hormuz crisis, casting it as a test of freedom of navigation with direct echoes for the contested South China Sea, where a fresh China–Philippines clash shadowed the ASEAN gathering. His meeting with Wang Yi touched on Iran, the maritime dispute and a planned Xi Jinping visit to Washington. He insisted the United States “remains open” to talks “so long as the commitments that are made are kept”, while blaming Tehran for the collapse. Jordan intercepted the incoming missiles. The widening arc of Iranian reprisals now spans Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi alerts. Watch whether Gulf states are drawn deeper into a war on their own soil.